Kindness and community books for adults

If you're working on our February SweetBean challenge and looking for related reading recommendations, look no further! Here are some books that center kindness and community for adults.

Looking for lists for other age groups? Check out the teen list here.

Check out the picture book list here.

Check out the chapter book list here.

Updated February 1, 2024
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The alchemist
Coelho, Paulo
Paper Book
Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of...
All this could be different
Mathews, Sarah Thankam
Paper Book
2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture,...
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shaffer, Mary Ann.
Paper Book
It's January 1946, and London is emerging from the shadow of World War II. Author Juliet Ashton is having a terrible time finding inspiration for her next book when she gets a letter from Dawsey Adams from Guernsey, a British island that had been occupied by the Nazis. He found her address in an old...
Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading
Paper Book
" From the bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED, an inspiring book about one of humankind's defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future Let's face it: Recent years have been tough...
Lean on me
Simmons, Pat
Paper Book
First in an emotional African American Christian romance from acclaimed inspirational author Pat Simmons featuring a tender-hearted heroine who puts her family first and a misguided hero who needs a little nudge to realize that sometimes all you have to do is believe. No one should have...
The librarianist : a novel
deWitt, Patrick
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself.  Bob Comet is a retired librarian...
Love & saffron : a novel of friendship, food, and love
Fay, Kim
Paper Book
When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter -- as well as a gift of saffron -- to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside...
A man called Ove
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller Meet Ove. Heâe(tm)s a curmudgeon âe" the kind of man who points at people he dislikes. He has staunch principlesâes strict routinesâes and a short fuse. People call him âeoethe bitter neighbor from hell.âe? But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So...
Pianos and flowers : brief encounters of the romantic kind
McCall Smith, Alexander
Paper Book
A delightful collection of stories and photographs from the best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, imagining the lives and loves of everyday people in the twentieth century Pictures capture moments in time, presenting the viewer with a window into...
The Printed Letter Bookshop
Reay, Katherine
Paper Book
Books. Love. Friendship. Second chances. All can be found at the Printed Letter Bookshop in the small, charming town of Winsome. One of Madeline Cullen's happiest childhood memories is of working with her Aunt Maddie in the quaint and cozy Printed Letter Bookshop. But by the...
The story of Arthur Truluv : a novel
Berg, Elizabeth
Paper Book
"I dare you to read this novel and not fall in love with Arthur Truluv. His story will make you laugh and cry, and will show you a love that never ends, and what it means to be truly human."--Fannie Flagg An emotionally powerful novel about three people who each lose the one they...

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